My Day 11 poem is my response to the NaPoWriMo.net prompt, which involves writing a poem consisting of a pair of letters—one to yourself or another person, and the reply you get back.

A few words to help you in the years ahead:

You are never going to be prepared
for all the things that will happen,
not even the ones you expect.

Some will take you by surprise.
Some will feel like no big deal.
Some will crush you.

Feelings will endure.
Feelings will fade.

But you will begin to understand
many of the things that now feel
like mysteries you can never uncover.

Behaviors that once puzzled
will make more sense—
except for those that make even less sense.

A lot of the things you might worry about
are beyond your control.
Most have nothing to do with you at all.

You will have happy moments.
You will have sad moments.
Most everything else will be somewhere in between.

Similarly, sometimes time will drag on so slowly
it may as well have stopped.
Then it will go by so fast you wonder what happened.

The biggest lesson you will learn
is that you are no different
from anyone else.

So be well,
and do the best you can.

––

What am I supposed to do with this?

I’m not you and things are different;
what makes you think they’re not?

I’m going to live my life on my own terms,
and whatever happens happens.

I’m going to try to always feel the way I do now;
age and time will not define me.

Because I’m learning from what you did wrong,
and doing things my own way.

I appreciate the advice
and I wish you well.

But I will not repeat your mistakes.
I will do better.
I will make things better.

My life is going to be different…

(11 April 2021)

—

---

Wishes sometimes have consequences is available to order from your favorite local bookstore.

IndieBound search: https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=wishes+sometimes+have+consequences

If they can’t get it for you, you can always find it on Amazon:
Hardcover: https://smile.amazon.com/Wishes-Sometimes-Consequences-Kevin-OConner/dp/0998878154/
Paperback: https://smile.amazon.com/Wishes-Sometimes-Consequences-Kevin-OConner/dp/0998878162/

Information about my other books can be found here.